By The Decade: Your Favourite 70s Films

I mentioned in my original piece for this week’s By The Decade that I struggled to whittle down my choices to just seven, and from the replies on Twitter, I’m really glad to see I wasn’t the only one!

There’s been a really outstanding response to #7FromThe70s, with some really great suggestions from a great cinematic decade, and from a few newcomers too, which is always nice.

Thanks so much to everyone who offered up their favourite films from the seventies, and the full list is below…

• Murphy’s War (1971)
• The Getaway (1972)
• Live And Let Die (1973)
• Paper Moon (1973)
• Mr Majestyk (1974)
• The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
• Coming Home (1978)
• Grease (1978)
• Dirty Harry (1971)
• Alien (1979)
• Rocky II (1979)
• The Omen (1976)
• Cross Of Iron (1977)
• Hair (1979)
• The Out-Of-Towners (1970)
• Apocalypse Now (1979)
• Love And Death (1975)
• Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask… (1972)
• Vanishing Point (1971)
• Silent Running (1972)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
• The Devils (1971)
• Suspiria (1977)
• The Three Musketeers (1973)
• Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
• The Conversation (1974)
• The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
• Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979)
• Chinatown (1974)
• Don’t Look Now (1973)
• The Conformist (1970)
• Le Boucher (1970)
• The French Connection (1971)
• Stalker (1979)
• Taxi Driver (1976)
• Carrie (1976)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
• The Godfather Part II (1974)
• All The President’s Men (1976)
• Get Carter (1971)
• Death Line (1972)
• Assault On Precinct 13 (1976)
• The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
• The Parallax View (1974)
• Three Days of the Condor (1975)
• The Duellists (1977)
• The Medusa Touch (1978)
• Cabaret (1972)
• What’s Up Doc? (1972)
• Young Frankenstein (1974)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• The In-Laws (1979)
• Charley Varrick (1973)
• Electra Glide In Blue (1973)
• Breaking Away (1979)
• The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973)
• Killer Of Sheep (1978)
• The Taking Of Pelham 123 (1974)
• Slap Shot (1977)
• Harlan County USA (1976)
• Wake In Fright (1971)
• Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
• The Last Detail (1973)
• Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)
• Patton (1970)
• The Long Goodbye (1973)
• Five Easy Pieces (1970)
• The Outfit (1973)
• Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
• World On A Wire (1973)
• Blazing Saddles (1974)
• Mad Max (1979)
• The Last Picture Show (1971)
• Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
• Belladonna Of Sadness (1973)
• Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972)
• Catch 22 (1970)
• The Seven-Ups (1973)
• Magnum Force (1973)
• The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

I mean, look at that list! What an amazing collection of films!

Part of the reason I started By The Decade was to learn about films I’d never heard of. While I’m very familiar with cinema of the seventies and have seen a good number of the suggestions above, there are some which are completely new to me and sound right up my street.

Even just at first glance, I’m really curious to see The Seven-Ups, Belladonna Of Sadness, Slap Shot, Charley Varrick, The Conformist and many more – my To Watch Pile is getting pretty ridiculous, but it’s great to have a list for the future.

I’m surprised to see a few big movies missing from the list, but maybe there are even a few on there that you’re not familiar with – be sure to let me know if you seek any out and what you think to them. Thanks to the brilliant Talking Pictures TV, I’ve already managed to dig up some of the recommendations from earlier By The Decade entries and I’m enjoying working through them.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to share their recommendations – those of you doing in via Twitter are really making it a better place in my book.

See you in the eighties!

• You can read By The Decade: 3 From The 30s here, and the reader suggestions here.
• You can read By The Decade: 4 From The 40s here, and the reader suggestions here.
• You can read By The Decade: 5 From The 50s here, and the reader suggestions here.
• You can read By The Decade: 6 From The 60s here, and the reader suggestions here.